The Festival of Cultures is now hosted by Douglas School to celebrate our rich cultural diversity. Join us for an evening of international community building by “traveling” to various countries.
See beautiful photos from 2017 and 2016.
Schedule :
- Visit “Ambassador” Tables (5 – 7pm)
- Look at local items and pictures on tables, talk to our “Ambassador” families
- Kids can find scavenger hunt items and can do an activity at every table
- Try new foods at the International Potluck (5 – 7pm)
- Every visiting family brings a dish that is shared in the potluck
- Local restaurants also donate food and drinks
- Enjoy multi-cultural performances (7:15 – 8:30pm)
- Kids from both schools and their friends bring amazing colorful group performances eg African, Chinese, Indian, Irish, Korean, Nepalese, Russian, Spanish dances and music, martial arts, sing along.
Entrance is $5 per person for the performances only, the rest of the event is free (don’t forget to bring your dish for the potluck). Confidential financial assistance is available through the school principals and counselors.
Emcees:
Attention Douglas and Conant 6th graders : Sign-up now (latest by Friday January 19) to audition as Emcee – Introducing all the performances on the Jr High stage! Check out the detailed information and sign up here.
Ambassadors:
Would you like to share your knowledge about a different culture, a culture that you love, or that your family or ancestors are from? Please consider being an Ambassador! Check out the detailed information and sign up here (ideally before February 9). We would love to also have a USA table for the first time !!
This year’s optional theme is Animals ! Bring some items and information for your table, wear traditional clothing if applicable and involve your kids to share our wonderful diversity!
Performers:
Do you have a talent or tradition from your country (incl. USA) that you would like to share with your friends on stage? A Dance, Music, a Skit, or eg martial arts performance? See the info page and sign up your group to perform here (ideally before February 9).
African Dance for 2nd-4th Graders:
Last year we organized a hip hop dance performance for our 2nd to 4th graders which got raving feedback. This year 2nd-4th graders can learn African dance to perform on stage. No prior dance experience needed. Rehearsals will be Thursdays 5-6pm starting March 1 at the Acton TV Studio (16a Craig Road in Acton); the teacher will be Vivian Birchall. Cost will be 25$ per child (+ potentially 10-25$ for costume tbc). See the info page and sign up here.
Volunteers:
We will need lots of volunteers on the day itself and a few the day before. A link to sign-up genius will be provided closer to the event.
We can always use more help to organize a specific part of the festival, contact us if interested at festivalofcultures@douglasschoolpto.org.
Recipes:
Enjoy the favorite international recipes from our ambassadors!
For more information about any of the above, please contact the Festival of Cultures coordinators at festivalofcultures@douglasschoolpto.org. Carol Buysse DeSchepper is driving the event for Douglas this year, with the help of Katherine Huffman and Swetha Kapoor. More volunteers to help organize always welcome !
History
In 1998, the Festival of Cultures was founded by Akiko Sensei to celebrate the Japanese program at Douglas. It was called Cultural Eve. A couple of years later it became a joint event between Conant and Douglas schools held in either of the school’s cafeterias. Since then, the Festival of Cultures, still organized by both schools, has grown so much that it needed to move to the Junior High to accommodate the families, typically 500+ people attend!
It’s a very colorful event, since not only the ambassadors and performers but also several visitors wear traditional clothing. It’s amazing to see our kids being proud of their culture… Kids love doing the activities and scavenger hunt, nowhere in town you find such an array of delicious food from all over the world and the performances are breathtaking… Come join !